Lessons must be learned from Savile abuse scandal says Wythenshawe MP

Wythenshawe MP, Mike Kane says it is vital the NHS and other institutions learn the lessons which have emerged from the investigations into the activities of serial sex offender, Jimmy Savile.

The results of a series of investigations into the former TV presenter’s sex crimes found Savile abused men women and children aged five to 75 in NHS hospitals in a period spanning 50 years.

Hospital bosses at Wythenshawe investigated claims made about Savile by patients in the 1960s, but say there is no evidence of assaults on the premises.

They have probed a conversation overheard between teenage outpatients in which they claimed ‘Uncle Jimmy’ was ‘up to no good’ at house parties at his Salford home.

And Wythenshawe MP, Mike Kane said, in a parliamentary debate, lessons must be learned. He said: “For me, the shocking revelation that I noted was that it was an open secret among patients, as early as 1962, that this man was doing what he was doing—and I quote: “a dirty old man up to no good”.

“If there is one good thing that can come from this for the nation, it is that we implore all institutions, both governmental and in civil society, to keep their child protection, safeguarding and recruitment selection procedures up to date and under review.”

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who issued an apology on behalf of the government in response to the investigation, agreed. He said: “Recruitment is a very important area that we must get right in this process, and I wholeheartedly agree with what he said.